Sound Perspectives TECHNICAL COMMIttee REPOrt Underwater Acoustics Megan S. Ballard The Technical Committee on Underwater Acoustics is concerned with sound-wave phe- Postal: nomena underwater and with the interaction of sound with the boundaries of the oceans. Applied Research Laboratories The University of Texas at Austin In contrast to electromagnetic waves, which are highly attenuated in water, acous- PO Box 8029 tic waves can propagate long distances in underwater environments. For this rea- Austin, Texas 78713-8029 son, sound waves are used in water in much the same way that electromagnetic USA waves are used in the atmosphere to sense the environment and communicate. The Technical Committee (TC) on Underwater Acoustics (TCUW) is concerned Email: with sound-wave phenomena underwater and with the interaction of sound with
[email protected] the boundaries of the ocean (the seabed and sea surface), with emphasis on the following topics: wave propagation, scattering and reverberation, ambient noise, sonar processing, and underwater acoustic instrumentation. The field of underwa- ter acoustics has a rich history that has been motivated by and asserted influence on world events. According to Goodman (2004), “The development of underwater acoustics in the Twentieth Century was closely related to, and for the most part, driven by the significant world events of the time, e.g., two world wars and the en- suing Cold War. No other field of acoustics was so affected by these events or had such importance in their outcome.” Today, work done by members of the TCUW represents a broad area of research, including topics with applications to fisher- ies, climate change, environmental remediation, and underwater communication.